Accreditation gives Siouxland Christian elementary pupils 'best of both worlds'
But higher enrollment needed to meet standards in upper grades
By Earl Horlykehorlyk@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Abby Krei, a sixth-grader at Siouxland Community Christian School in Sioux City, works on a song in teacher Yvonne Hazlett's music class Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. The school recently received state accreditation for its primary grades. (Sioux City Journal photo by Tim Hynds)
SIOUX CITY -- Siouxland Community Christian School thinks its students deserve the best.
That's why school Superintendent Steve Clark was eager to have his school's kindergarten through sixth-grade classes earn the state Board of Education's seal of approval.
"We wanted to celebrate our 50th anniversary by having a state-accredited elementary school," Clark explained, noting the school received its accreditation July 31.
"We thought we had our Christian curriculum down pat," Clark said. "But to give our grade school 'kiddos' the best of both worlds, we needed to use the state's benchmarks on core curriculum and make them our own."
He added that he wanted to remove any doubts in the minds of parents that their kids were getting a well-rounded education.
Founded in 1959, Siouxland Community Christian School is a nondenominational private school that offers education in a Christian setting. Currently, the school has 81 students attending its K-6 classes, 26 in preschool and 21 in grades 7-12.
The move toward accreditation, according to Clark, started with the 2007-08 school year.
Accrediting a private school is the same as for a public school, said Elaine Watkins-Miller, communications consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. More than 34,000 students were enrolled in Iowa's Christian schools in 2007, and the vast majority already have state accreditation, she said.
The process begins when a school submits an application for accreditation, a five-year comprehensive school improvement plan and a progress report for the previous school year. The education department also schedules a visit to the school to see if it meets all of the state's requirements.
The state board's standards call for a multicultural, gender-fair approach to instruction that includes global perspectives and prescribe areas to be taught in each grade. For grades 1-6, for example, English-language arts, social studies, math, science, health, physical education, traffic safety, music and visual art are required.
If satisfied, the department of education will provide a report to the state Board of Education, which grants accreditation, subject to review every five years.
In the case of Siouxland Community Christian School, all of the elementary's 15 full-time and five part-time teachers had to be licensed to teach in Iowa. Although all had teaching degrees, Clark explained, a few held teaching licenses from their home states.
"That was a fairly minor problem," Clark said, "and the teachers took care of it themselves."
But the school's elementary curriculum did not change, he said, because it already mirrored the state's guidelines.
"We always knew we offered a quality product," Clark said. "This only confirms it."
While having the state's seal of approval for the K-6 classes is nice, Clark said, he believes the school must next seek accreditation for its remaining grades.
Graduating from an unaccredited high school can put students at a disadvantage when they apply for college admission.
Siouxland Christian needs to increase its secondary-school enrollment so it can hire more teachers and broaden its class offerings to meet state standards for accreditation, Clark said.
Robbie Rohlena, Morningside College's dean of enrollment, approves of that idea.
"Kids from schools that aren't accredited don't always have the type of transcripts that colleges need when accepting incoming students," Rohlena said. "They may be missing a class here or there that we required of all of our freshmen."
In that case, Morningside places much greater weight on standardized tests such as the ACT or the SAT, Rohlena said.
But Siouxland Community Christian School board president Don Klynsma said he's confident his school's K-6 accreditation will produce a "trickle up" effect.
"Once parents see the quality of education their kids are receiving at the grade-school level," he said, "I'm sure they'll keep their kids in our schools for the upper grades as well."
Clark agrees.
"We're in a very tough economy, and tuition isn't cheap," he said. "But we want to show parents that our school provides their 'kiddos' not only the exceptional religious education they desire but also the well-rounded education they'll need."
Preparing for accreditation
Private schools that seek state accreditation must provide documentation in a number of areas, including:
* Equal opportunity in programs provided to all students.
* Policy on harassment, bullying and hazing.
* School calendar with 180 days of instruction.
* Minimum of 5 1/2 hours of school per day.
* Required courses for each grade being taught.
* Professional development.
That's why school Superintendent Steve Clark was eager to have his school's kindergarten through sixth-grade classes earn the state Board of Education's seal of approval.
"We wanted to celebrate our 50th anniversary by having a state-accredited elementary school," Clark explained, noting the school received its accreditation July 31.
"We thought we had our Christian curriculum down pat," Clark said. "But to give our grade school 'kiddos' the best of both worlds, we needed to use the state's benchmarks on core curriculum and make them our own."
He added that he wanted to remove any doubts in the minds of parents that their kids were getting a well-rounded education.
Founded in 1959, Siouxland Community Christian School is a nondenominational private school that offers education in a Christian setting. Currently, the school has 81 students attending its K-6 classes, 26 in preschool and 21 in grades 7-12.
The move toward accreditation, according to Clark, started with the 2007-08 school year.
Accrediting a private school is the same as for a public school, said Elaine Watkins-Miller, communications consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. More than 34,000 students were enrolled in Iowa's Christian schools in 2007, and the vast majority already have state accreditation, she said.
The process begins when a school submits an application for accreditation, a five-year comprehensive school improvement plan and a progress report for the previous school year. The education department also schedules a visit to the school to see if it meets all of the state's requirements.
The state board's standards call for a multicultural, gender-fair approach to instruction that includes global perspectives and prescribe areas to be taught in each grade. For grades 1-6, for example, English-language arts, social studies, math, science, health, physical education, traffic safety, music and visual art are required.
If satisfied, the department of education will provide a report to the state Board of Education, which grants accreditation, subject to review every five years.
In the case of Siouxland Community Christian School, all of the elementary's 15 full-time and five part-time teachers had to be licensed to teach in Iowa. Although all had teaching degrees, Clark explained, a few held teaching licenses from their home states.
"That was a fairly minor problem," Clark said, "and the teachers took care of it themselves."
But the school's elementary curriculum did not change, he said, because it already mirrored the state's guidelines.
"We always knew we offered a quality product," Clark said. "This only confirms it."
While having the state's seal of approval for the K-6 classes is nice, Clark said, he believes the school must next seek accreditation for its remaining grades.
Graduating from an unaccredited high school can put students at a disadvantage when they apply for college admission.
Siouxland Christian needs to increase its secondary-school enrollment so it can hire more teachers and broaden its class offerings to meet state standards for accreditation, Clark said.
Robbie Rohlena, Morningside College's dean of enrollment, approves of that idea.
"Kids from schools that aren't accredited don't always have the type of transcripts that colleges need when accepting incoming students," Rohlena said. "They may be missing a class here or there that we required of all of our freshmen."
In that case, Morningside places much greater weight on standardized tests such as the ACT or the SAT, Rohlena said.
But Siouxland Community Christian School board president Don Klynsma said he's confident his school's K-6 accreditation will produce a "trickle up" effect.
"Once parents see the quality of education their kids are receiving at the grade-school level," he said, "I'm sure they'll keep their kids in our schools for the upper grades as well."
Clark agrees.
"We're in a very tough economy, and tuition isn't cheap," he said. "But we want to show parents that our school provides their 'kiddos' not only the exceptional religious education they desire but also the well-rounded education they'll need."
Preparing for accreditation
Private schools that seek state accreditation must provide documentation in a number of areas, including:
* Equal opportunity in programs provided to all students.
* Policy on harassment, bullying and hazing.
* School calendar with 180 days of instruction.
* Minimum of 5 1/2 hours of school per day.
* Required courses for each grade being taught.
* Professional development.
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